Involvement, satisfaction, and brand loyalty in a small business services setting

Considerable resources are expended annually on building business brands, yet the literature is virtually silent on brand loyalty in a business setting. This study examines the relationship between attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty in a business services context, and attempts to identify two key antecedents of loyalty in this context. In particular, little is known about small businesses as customers, despite their significant contribution to the economies of developed nations. A longitudinal design is implemented, and data are captured on both attitudinal loyalty and subsequent loyalty behaviors (i.e., actual purchase behavior). The findings demonstrate the value of conceptualizing and measuring both attitudinal and behavioral components of brand loyalty. Specifically, the results indicate that attitudinal loyalty mediates the effects of the antecedents studied (category involvement and purchase satisfaction) on behavioral loyalty. Implications for marketing theory and practitioners are discussed, and possible directions for future research are sketched.     

Impacts of product,store and retailer perceptions on consumers’ relationship to terroir store brand

This research shows that consumers’ relationship to terroir store brand, measured through attachment and two facets of brand loyalty (attitudinal and behavioral) is respectively influenced by their perceptions of the product, retailer and store. More specifically, the perceived authenticity of the products of the terroir store brand and its perceived value have a positive and significant influence on the attachment and behavioral loyalty of the regular buyers of this store brand and a positive and significant influence on the attachment of its occasional buyers. Trust in the retailer has a positive and significant impact on the behavioral loyalty of the regular buyers of this terroir store brand while perceived image of the store has only a positive and significant impact on the attitudinal loyalty of its occasional buyers.     

Understanding the impact of online customers’ shopping experience on online impulsive buying: A study on two leading E-commerce platforms

Research offers some indication that the online customers' shopping experience (OCSE) can be a strong predictor of online impulsive buying behavior, but there is not much empirical support available to form a holistic understanding; whether, and indeed how, the effects of the OCSE on online impulsive buying behavior are affected by customers' attitudinal loyalty and self-control are not well understood areas of research. In this study, we examine how functional and psychological dimensions of the OCSE influence online impulsive buying within e-commerce platforms. We will investigate customers' attitudinal loyalty as a mediator between the OCSE and online impulsive buying behavior, and the customers' self-control as a moderator between customers' attitudinal loyalty and online impulsive buying. To analyze these relationships we will conduct an online survey (n = 1489) with customers of two leading Chinese e-commerce platforms: Jindong and Taobao. The findings from structural equation modeling indicate a positive relationship between the tested dimensions of the OCSE and customers' online impulsive buying. We also find a mediating role of customers' attitudinal loyalty and negative moderation of customers’ self-control. Theoretically, the findings contribute to the literature regarding online impulsive buying and the online customer experience. For managers, the findings stress the importance of ethical management with regard to the online shopping experiences.     

Retailers with traits of consumer: Exploring the existence and antecedents of brand loyalty in small unorganized retailers

Retail in most emerging countries, like India, is dominated by the informal sector consisting of small unorganized retailers and marketers selling through them desperately want to win them over because it can be a powerful competitive advantage in these markets.Small unorganized retail store is a unique setting because most of these stores are owned and managed by individual proprietors who are neither schooled in systematic business decision making and nor have access to professional expertise and scientific tools to assist in taking business decisions in a systematic way. With loads of decisions to be made by this individual, it can be assumed that heuristics and common sense drive a lot of their business decisions and this makes them very similar to the decision making done by the end consumers, who also engage in buying decisions but are not scientific in their approach.Based on this similarity, this study attempts to explore a simple but profound question that like individual consumers, do these retail customers’ buying decisions also get affected by brand loyalty? In that direction, the study assesses the role of three variables - salesperson quality, self-experience with the brand and perceived company support, for predicting brand loyalty in small unorganized retailers.Using Structured Equation Modelling on data collected from 543 retailers, the proposed hypothesized paths have been tested. The results strongly support the proposition made. This study extends the application of the existing attitudinal – behavioural framework of brand loyalty to retailers and puts forward a vital and a unique way for marketers to get these retailers on-board and work as an influencer to push their brand.     

Drivers of Customers’ Adoption and Adoption Timing of a New Loyalty Card in the Grocery Retail Market

The authors study consumers’ process of adoption of a new loyalty card in a grocery retail context. More specifically, the authors simultaneously investigate the impact of attitudinal, behavioral, and socio-demographic variables on the likelihood of adoption and the time to adoption. They show that these variables differently affect the adoption likelihood and timing and demonstrate the importance of attitudinal measures of customer loyalty such as commitment to the store. This research confirms the so-called self-selection bias and extends it to the attitudinal dimension of loyalty. Some guidelines are proposed to increase the effectiveness of loyalty card program launches.     

Clustering Attitudes and Behaviors of High/ Low Involvement Grocery Shopper

The purpose of this exploratory and quantitative study was to examine the attitudes and behaviors of 14,807 grocery shoppers. These respondents across the US were asked to answer attitudinal, behavioral, and demographic related questions. Shoppers were profiled by analyzing their responses to 16 relevant attitudinal and behavioral questions. A cluster analysis was performed followed by a discriminant analysis to determine attitudinal and behavioral variables explaining cluster membership. A cross-tabulation analysis assessed demographic variables that correlated with cluster membership. Two clusters were identified: high and low involvement grocery shoppers. In an event that has long been perceived as low involvement, a large percentage (53%) can be categorized as high involvement grocery shoppers. These shoppers tend to be younger. They were more likely to enjoy the hunt of finding products/deals, seek the advice of others and perceive that the products they buy reflect upon them. Grocery stores have a significant opportunity to target this high involvement shopper. Grocery stores will need to create an integrative, engaging online and in-store experience to attract high involvement shoppers and ultimately increase store loyalty. The results of this research has significant communication, branding and digital marketing implications.     

Loyalty programs,loyalty engagement and customer engagement with the company brand: Consumer-centric behavioral psychology insights from three industries

Firms make large investments in loyalty programs (LPs) to build customer relationships with customer loyalty as one of their primary goals. Despite the popularity of LPs, their effectiveness is questioned and the subject of academic debates in relation to outcomes such as profitability. Moreover, extant research has not investigated if customers engage with LPs through LP perceived value and how LP engagement improves LP loyalty, brand loyalty, and customer engagement (CE) with the company brand. This study examines, from a consumer-centric behavioral perspective, LP engagement (LPE) behavior, and how LPE behavior impacts brand and LP loyalty, as well as CE. We introduce LPE behavior, a relatively new concept, in the form of a multi-dimensional set of hierarchically-ordered dimensions. We show a differentiated view of the relationship between the antecedents of brand loyalty as well as LP loyalty and CE. External, convergent and discriminant validity are confirmed by testing our model with a representative sample (n = 593) of the U.S. LP population with participants being members of either a grocery retail chain, department store chain, or airline frequent flyer LP. We show that perceived LP value engages customers with LPs. Subsequently, LPE behavior improves LP loyalty and brand loyalty as well as CE with the company brand.     

Consumer loyalty in sport spectatorship services: The relationships with consumer satisfaction and team identification

This research aimed to investigate the possible relationships between the concepts of consumer loyalty (attitudinal and behavioral), satisfaction, and team identification in the context of sport spectatorship. Specifically, several models were tested to investigate (1) the direct influence of team identification, consumer behavioral loyalty, and consumer satisfaction on consumer attitudinal loyalty, and (2) the mediating or moderating role of team identification in the relationship between consumer satisfaction, behavioral loyalty, and attitudinal loyalty. Results from a sample of 395 spectators of French ice hockey first division clubs revealed that consumer transaction–specific satisfaction was found to be the stronger predictor for consumer attitudinal loyalty alongside team identification and the average number of home games attended per year. A second indirect route is possible because team identification was also found to play a mediating role between consumer transaction–specific satisfaction, home and away games attended per year, and some dimensions of consumer attitudinal loyalty. Finally, team identification was also found to moderate the impact of consumer satisfaction and the number of away games attended on different facets of attitudinal loyalty. Marketing and theoretical implications are discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Does attitudinal loyalty influence behavioral loyalty? A theoretical and empirical study

Despite a plethora of studies on brand loyalty spanning over last three decades, the research paradigm is unique in its inability to produce generalizable results. The research suffers from a lack of agreement over the operationalization of the construct of the brand loyalty. Many researchers [e.g., Kahn, B.E., Kalwani, M.U., Morrison, D.G., 1986. Measuring variety seeking and reinforcement behaviors using panel data. Journal of Marketing Research 23, 89–100; Ehrenberg, A.S.C., Goodhardt, G.J., Barwise, P.B., 1990. Double jeopardy revisited. Journal of Marketing 54, 82–91] have defined brand loyalty only from a behavioral perspective. They assumed that repeat purchasing can capture the loyalty of a consumer towards the brand of interest. Other researchers [e.g., Day, G.S., 1969. A two-dimensional concept of brand loyalty. Journal of Advertising Research 9, 29–35; Dick, A.S., Basu, K., 1994. Consumer loyalty: towards an integrated conceptual approach. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 22 (2), 99–113; Baldinger, A.L., Rubinson, J., 1996. Brand loyalty: the link between attitude and behavior. Journal of Advertising Research 36 (6), 22–34; Rundle-Thiele, S.R., Bennett, R., 2001. A brand for all seasons: A discussion of loyalty approaches and their applicability for different markets. Journal of Product and Brand Management 10 (1), 25–37; Rundle-Thiele, S.R., 2005. Elaborating customer loyalty: exploring loyalty to wine retailers. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 12 (5), 333–344], however, have suggested that attitude should be included along with behavior to define loyalty. In particular, Dick and Basu (1994) were precise in suggesting that a favorable attitude and repeat purchase were required to define loyalty. By viewing loyalty as an attitude–behavior relationship in their framework, Dick and Basu (1994) were able to investigate the concept from a causal perspective thereby permitting the identification of the factors that influence loyalty.Our research extends the idea proposed by Dick and Basu (1994) in two ways. First, we provide a conceptually clear, and an operationally meaningful way of segmenting the market on the basis of attitudes that govern this behavior. To be specific, we offer a unique way to measure attitudinal loyalty. And we use a unique survey data with a large sample of 1800 respondents that includes both behavioral (purchase) patterns and attitudes of the respondents for all major brands of toothpaste, to demonstrate that behavioral loyalty is influenced by attitudinal loyalty across many brands of the toothpaste category. Finally, we propose that a third behavioral pattern—non-user—should be also included along with two known behavioral patterns viz. single user and multiple user. This is because a non-user has the potential to become a consumer in future.     

The Role of Brand Detachment on the Dissolution of the Relationship Between the Consumer and the Brand

Given the growing role of affective factors in consumer behaviour and particularly on brand loyalty, the deterioration of these factors can provide an additional explanation of the dissolution of the relationship between the brand and the consumer. A new concept, brand detachment, was developed in marketing research to enhance understanding of the dissolution process of the relationship between brands and consumers. Brand detachment results from the dissolution of the affective bond existing between a brand and a consumer and can be seen as an attitudinal aspect of the dissolution process of certain relationships. After conceptualizing brand detachment, the results of a quantitative study (N=434, use of regression analysis) allow this concept to be used as an indicator of the consumer's propensity to end the relationship with the brand. Thus brand detachment has a negative influence on the consideration of the brand and the consumer's subsequent buying behaviour in relation to it.     

Role of customer orientation in an integrative model of brand loyalty in services

This study attempts to model the development of brand loyalty by examining the simultaneous effects of customer orientation, perceived quality, brand associations, and satisfaction on brand loyalty. Data are used from retail banking and discount store retailing services to examine the direct and indirect effects of customer perceptions of customer orientation and quality on brand loyalty. It was found that customer orientation has a direct effect on brand loyalty and indirect effects through customer satisfaction, perceived quality, and brand associations as mediators. Further, perceived quality has a direct effect on brand loyalty as well as an indirect effect with satisfaction as a mediator. The results suggest that effective management of brand loyalty would require tracking of customer perceptions of a firm's customer orientation, quality and brand, in addition to measuring customer satisfaction.     

Building consumer loyalty through e-shopping experiences: The mediating role of emotions

In the retail sector, it has become necessary for retailers to differentiate themselves using new strategies, such as managing shopping experiences. The retailer can benefit from applying these experiences in order to gain loyal customers. The purpose of this research is to advance in the analysis of the different dimensions of the e-shopping experience, identified from a literature review, and attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. In addition, this study highlights the importance of emotional experience, analyzing the mediating effect of emotional experience on the relationship between online experiences and consumers’ loyalty. The empirical research is based on a sample of 496 consumers. The results reveal that using different experiences could influence loyalty in two different ways: directly affecting attitudinal loyalty (especially when website trustworthiness is low and consumers experience more uncertainty) and indirectly affecting behavioral loyalty through emotional experience.     

The importance of customer satisfaction in explaining brand and dealer loyalty

The positive influence of customer satisfaction on brand and dealer loyalty is often taken for granted. In this study we attempted to prove whether this relationship really exists. In order to do so we examined the case of an automobile‐dealer network. Three different types of customer satisfaction were distinguished: (a) satisfaction with the car; (b) satisfaction with the sales service and (c) satisfaction with the after‐sales service. It was expected that all three types of satisfaction would have an influence on brand loyalty as well as on dealer loyalty. More specifically, it was expected that satisfaction with the car would be the major determinant of brand loyalty and that satisfaction with the service (both sales‐ and after‐sales service) would be the major determinant of dealer loyalty. Furthermore, a study of the literature revealed that dealer loyalty might also significantly affect brand loyalty.

In the empirical part of the study, customers (n = 416) of different automobile‐dealers of the same brand were asked to fill in a mailed questionnaire. The three different types of customer satisfaction and the intention to buy the same brand of car again, as well as the intention to buy from the same dealer again were measured. The customers were also asked why they would buy the same brand (again) or from the same dealer. In general, the analyses of the results revealed that: customer satisfaction with the car, as well as dealer loyalty are major determinants of brand loyalty; customer satisfaction with the sales service as well as with the after‐sales service are major determinants of dealer loyalty and dealer loyalty is an intervening variable in the relation between satisfaction and brand loyalty. Furthermore, it was found that the strength of the relationship between different types of satisfaction and loyalty indicators differs markedly between various market segments (private/business use of car and new/used car buyers). Several marketing implications are presented. A distinction may be made between the implications for the manufacturer of the physical product and the automobile dealer rendering the service.     

The effects of schema congruity on consumer response to celebrity advertising

The trend of celebrity-branded products is on the rise, creating a new domain in which to explore the match-up hypothesis. Moving beyond the celebrity as an endorser, but rather, a brand promoting a brand extension, this article examines how perceived congruence between a celebrity's image and the brand image of products they have developed is related to attitudinal and behavioral measures of advertising effectiveness. Employing a 2 × 3 full factorial design, congruence between the celebrity's image and the brand's image was varied (less vs. more congruent), along with the use of the celebrity's image (present, absent, non-celebrity models) to determine how schema congruity influences consumer's response to celebrity advertising. The results of a multivariate analysis of covariance analysis indicating lower levels of congruence between the celebrity's image and the brand's image led to greater advertising effectiveness compared to higher levels of congruence. Specifically, the means of the attitudinal dependent variables in the less congruent condition were significantly higher than the means in the more congruent condition. These effects were more pronounced when a celebrity's image was featured in the advertisement compared to when it was not featured. The implication of the findings suggests that moderate violations in the consumer's celebrity schema may improve advertising effectiveness.     

The impact of customer awareness of manufacturer name disclosure on retail brand attitudes and loyalty in Korea

This paper explores the impact of exposing the name of the manufacturer on a retail brand product upon national brand loyalty, retail brand loyalty and store loyalty, It does so by exploring customer attitudes towards retail brands in South Korea, where there is a legal requirement for retail brands to portray the manufacturer׳s name. For international retailers entering markets where such disclosure is a legal requirement an understanding of the implications of this for retail brand management is essential. The findings suggest that in the Korean case revealing the name of the manufacturer who supplies the retail brand on the product packaging has a positive influence on attitudes towards retail brands, although it did not mitigate the perceived risks held by customers towards retail brand products in general.     

A Heuristic Model for Establishing Trade-Offs in Corporate Sustainability Performance Measurement Systems

Consumer trust is a key prerequisite for establishing a market for credence goods, such as “green” products, especially when they are premium priced. This article reports research on exactly how, and how much, trust influences consumer decisions to buy new green products. It identifies consumer trust as a distinct volition factor influencing the likelihood that consumers will act on green intentions and strongly emphasizes the needs to manage consumer trust as a prerequisite for the development of a market for green products. Specifically, based on a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods, it is found that lack of consumer trust is a barrier for the development of a market for organic food in Thailand. Two focus groups and ten in-depth interviews revealed low knowledge about and low trust in organic food, certification, control, and labeling. Further, a mall-intercept survey (N = 177) revealed that lack of (especially) system trust reduces consumer expectations about benefits of buying organic food, and it makes them less likely to buy organic food. Mistrust in the control system and in the authenticity of food sold as organic has a significant negative impact on self-reported buying behavior. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.     

“I'll buy what she's #wearing”: The roles of envy toward and parasocial interaction with influencers in Instagram celebrity-based brand endorsement and social commerce

Companies increasingly leverage Instagram as a channel for brand management, consumer services, and social commerce. This study addresses the dynamics of interaction among brand-related user-generated contents (UGC) posted on Instagram, social media-based brand communication with Instagram celebrities (parasocial interaction [PSI] and envy), and consumers' characteristics (social comparison tendency, compulsive buying tendency, and materialistic envy). Three between-subjects experiments (Experiment 1: N = 121; Experiment 2: N = 106; Experiment 3: N = 377) were conducted to test the effects of Instagram influencers and their branded-UGC on consumer behavior outcomes. Experiment 1 employed a 3 (branded content type [Instagram influencer's photo type]: selfies vs. photos taken by others vs. group photos) x 2 (gender: female vs. male) factorial design. Experiment 2 employed a 2 (content generator type: Instagram celebrity vs. mainstream celebrity) x 2 (gender: female vs. male) factorial design. Experiment 3 deployed a 2 (branded content type: photos listing products vs. photos showing models) x 2 (content generator type: commercial brand [corporate] vs. Instagram celebrity [human]) factorial design. Experiment 1 indicates Instagram influencers' photo types and gender moderate the effects of envy toward and PSI with them on consumers' intention to buy the products Instagram influencers are wearing. Experiment 2 shows content generator types and gender moderate the effects of envy and PSI on source trustworthiness perception. Experiment 3 demonstrates branded content types and content generator types moderate the effects of consumers' physical appearance social comparison tendency, compulsive buying tendency, and materialistic envy on brand trust. This study makes theoretical contributions to the literature on retailing and consumer services as well as provides managerial implications for Instafamous-based influencer marketing and social commerce in Web 2.0 environments.     

Family Size Underpins Grocery Shoppers' Behavioural Response to Stock-Outs

Abstract

Grocery shoppers were questioned about their response to the stock-out of their preferred item of milk and milk products. This measure was used as the dependent variable in a multinomial logit model with the independent variables being shopper dispositions, the contextual shopping situations, age, and household size. This study identified distinctive customer orientations that foreshadowed shoppers' buying a brand variant, buying another brand, and forgoing or postponing their purchase. A binary logit model then estimated the shoppers'orientations that motivated them to seek their preferred item from another store. It emerged that for most shoppers, their household size appeared to be a pressing variable that influenced the way they tackled the non-availability of their normal choice. Marketing literature postulates that large families invariably gravitate to larger pack sizes. Previous research also observes that brand loyalty is negatively correlated to household size. If their regular choice is not available, shoppers could, therefore, easily be driven to seek alternative brands. This study has identified that it would be useful for brand variants to offer shoppers sufficient consumption time till the products' use-by dates to encourage their purchase and prevent shoppers from crossing over to another brand or store. Central to the ample availability of consumption time is the capacity of channel members to support frequent deliveries of larger pack sizes in small lot quantities to the retail store.     

Identifying Customer Loyalty Supporting Factors in the Retail Banking Context: An Empirical Examination

This article aims to identify factors which support customer loyalty, either through dedication or by imposing constraints, and subsequently empirically analyzes the relationship between identified factors and the attitudinal and behavioral component of loyalty in the context of retail banking. Data collected from a sample of 293 retail banking customers have been analyzed through structural equation modeling. The study results suggested two constraint promoting factors and one dedication promoting factor which supported loyalty. The study contributes to knowledge by empirically testing the qualitative model and coming out with empirically proven dedication-promoting and constraint-promoting loyalty supporting factors.